Propechy of Night
by forever21lupus
Summary: Mara has loved the Underland Chronicles since she was in seventh grade. But what happens when she realizes her favorite books aren't actually fiction? Follow Mara and her sister Kendall as they dive into the world of the Underland and undergo a quest that will decide the fate of the Regalians.
1. Prologue

**Hello all! So, I recently re-read my favorite book series, and I am seriously on a craze right now. I have loved these books since my middle school days (AWK). I cannot express my love in these meager mortal words.  
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**What other way to deal with an addiction other than to write about it? HAHAHA. That's the way to more addicted. OH WELL.  
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**Tell me what you guys think! And if you haven't read Gregor the Overlander, you haven't lived life. Run to the nearest library IMMEDIATELY.  
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**Prologue**

It was in Disney World that I realized the truth.

In the middle of the Rock and Roll Rollercoaster, right at the peak of the upside down loop, the ride decided to malfunction. With the loud shriek of metal-against-metal, the ride slammed to a stop, violently jerking the poor passengers against the back of their seats. We were suspended, upside down, hands hanging in midair, silent, as the panic started to descend.

I was, to say the least, the furthest from a risk taker you'll ever meet. YOLO? No sir. I'll pass. So playing football with my sister in the yard can hurt me? Yeah, I'd rather not. Fifteen years old, and I've never broken a bone, sprained something, twisted anything, or had to go to the hospital for any reason related to myself. I've never even been stung by a bee. Yes, I live on the safe side of the tracks. So deciding to ride the Rock and Roll Rollercoaster, a ride that went from 0 to whatever in less than a second then proceeded to slam the defenseless riders through a course of twists, sudden turns, and one upside down loop, was rather uncharacteristic of me. Yet, decide my conscience, I rode it anyways.

I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had listened to my conscience. It haunts me at night. How much easier would life be if I had simply opted not to go, like I had every time before when I had been offered to ride?

Anyways.

We were hanging there as my heart lurched somewhere far down, and my blood started to coil. The tips of my fingers began to tingle as panic started to surge through my body. The screaming from other passengers that had previously been from ecstatic joy morphed into shouts of terror as they realized the predicament they were trapped in.

I heard my sisters begin to scream and cry, and my parents try to console them. I didn't scream, just started jerking and wiggling, trying to free myself from the seat. I started to panic, throwing myself violently against the bar that was currently pressing very uncomfortably against my shoulders and neck.

_Deep breaths, Mara, _I reminded myself. _Calm down._

Like I normally did when presented into an emergency situation, my mind instantly cleared itself. Like a slate wiped clean, my priorities started to line up.

One, get out of the car. Two, get your family out of the car. Three, start helping others get out.

My trembling fingers pushed up against the bar, but it refused to budge. At that moment, the lights flicked on and the intercom told us to remain calm and stay in our seats.

The harsh lights illuminated the room, making me immediately squint my eyes. In the distance, I recognized a large, dark form slam against a wall before scurrying away and disappearing from sight. My brain registered it as unimportant, focusing solely on the bar. If I could push up, against the pull of gravity, I might be able to squeeze myself through the headlock. I wedged my hands between my shoulders and the bar, and I started to push up. I could hear attendants start to flood the room, hastily freeing the people stuck on either ends of the 'coaster first. Unfortunately, my family was in the middle.

I continued my task, my trembling arms painstakingly raising my body, inch by inch, until I could start to pull my face through. My head, as suspected, got stuck about halfway through, and I had to fight against the urge to spazz until I got myself free. Claustrophobia was a deadly fear to have. My cheeks were smashed painfully against my head as I pulled harder. With a pop, my head was yanked free. My hands flew out, and my foot caught on the edge of the car, the only thing that kept me from plummeting the thirty feet to the ground. I cried out in fear, my hands scrabbling to find a hold as my body started falling. Finally, one had snagged against the hanging compartment bag that was supposed to hold stray items like sunglasses and purses that may fly out of the car. One of the attendants told me to hang on. I clung onto the net as tightly as I could, but I had never been a very strong girl. It was miracle I hung on as long as I did. Long enough for someone to push a ladder up under me and manage to catch me as my fingers released hold of the net.

Everyone made it out of the rollercoaster shaken up, but unharmed. My family was laughing almost as soon as we got out of the building.

It wasn't until we were back at the condo, and I was reliving the experience that it dawned on me. The huge form I had seen when the lights went on… that had been…

A rat.

My eyes had seen it, but my mind hadn't digested it. Now that I had time to think, the upside-down form had most definitely been a massive, almost six-feet-tall, living, breathing rat.

The thought made my muscles clench up and chills run down my spine. Goosebumps rose by the hundreds over my arms and legs, and the hair on the back of my neck stood erect. My thoughts instantly flew to a book series I had read back in seventh grade, when I was all legs and braces and awkward… even more so than I was today, if that was even possible. To this day, it was my favorite series, even though I hadn't picked one up since I was twelve. Instantly, the name conjured in my mind.

Gregor the Overlander. The story of a young boy who got sucked down into the dramas of a world far beneath the city of New York, where it was war and bats and huge rats.

My mind wrestled with itself for hours. It couldn't be true. Sure it could. The books were fiction. What about the rat you had seen? A mutation; an escaped science experiment. What if it wasn't? But it was. Back and forth, back and forth. The rational part of mind, and the other part that desperately wished that it was an Underland rat I had seen. Because if I had seen an Underlander, that meant that my favorite books had come to life, and, with them, my favorite character of all time.

It'd been nearly impossible to concentrate on anything else the entirety of the trip. On times when I was gleeful, I managed to convince myself that yes, it was true. And instead of watching Mickey Mouse pass by on top of his parade float, I was fantasizing of myself in Regalia, hacking away at legions of rats with Gregor and Luxa by my side. But, in the despairing loneliness off nights, sheer logic claimed my mind, and I sunk into the sorrowful belief that it couldn't be true.

It wouldn't be until three months later, during my family's unexpected trip to New York City, that I would get a chance to prove my rational self wrong.

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**Soooooo? What'd you think? Read and review! **

**XOXO  
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	2. Chapter 1

**Hellooooo gaiiiis. How ya derin'?  
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**Okay, so something else I forgot to mention in the prologue, is that this is very slightly AU. Ripred isn't the king of the rats, Luxa and Ripred aren't bonds, but there is still a treaty between the humans and rats. For now. Mwahaha.  
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**Enjoy!  
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**«1»**

**The Descent**

**Mara, Kendall, Plot © Me  
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**Everything Else © Suzanne Collins  
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The hotel was fairly close to Central Park. We had visited today, and I had found numerous rocks that matched the description from the books. I laid on the bed, aware of my sister Kendall sleeping next to me. We had managed to get our own room to ourselves, while my parents slept in another room and my other two sisters got to sleep in the living room.

Tomorrow morning we were leaving. I keep telling myself I waited this long because I had wanted to scope out Central Park, but I knew that wasn't entirely true. I was scared. I was scared that I would move every rock in Central Park, in all of New York City, and I still wouldn't find it. The crushing disappointed flooding my veins, taking control of my lungs, making my breath hitch in my throat-

Stop. It'll be there.

I closed my eyes and mentally went through my plan. Take a taxi to Central Park. Somehow move aside the rock. Get down into the tunnels. In case there were any rats, bring a softball bat. I wasn't very strong, but maybe I could hold them off. What about light? I wouldn't be able to hold a light and hit them. Sure, I could duct tape it to my arm like Gregor, but that wasn't going to be very reliable. It would be swinging all over the place. I huffed in frustration, punching the bed. This was impossible…

Kendall groaned, turning over. She mumbled something in her sleep, stretching out and resting her arm across my stomach.

And, just like that, my dilemma was solved. A smile spread across my face. Yes, this was an impossible task… for just one person.

A long list of pros manifested in my head, making me almost giddy with happiness. Kendall played competitive softball, had been for years, so she was tall and lean with muscles. She was strong, strong enough to move a heavy rock aside. A rat may be less likely to attack a person if it sees there's more than one of us. Plus, she would be able to take another backpack and hold more supplies.

I sat up. "Kendall," I muttered, shaking her.

Her glazed blue eyes opened slowly, looking at my dully.

"Come, let's go for a run." A very weak excuse, but hopefully she would just go with it.

At first, she looked like she was going to refuse. She closed her eyes, and I was about to shake her again when she whispered, "What time is it?"

I turned over to see the clock. The bright green letters read 2:37. I turned back to her. "It's 6:45. Come on."

As I got up, I sneakily unplugged the clock, the face going blank. I flipped on the lamp, and Kendall reluctantly rolled sideways of the bed. I started rifling through through my luggage, pulling on a pair of athletic shorts and t-shirt. I put on a pair of tennis shoes and threw my long, dark brown hair into a ponytail. Kendall exited the bathroom, having finished brushing her teeth and the like. We traded spots, me going to the bathroom while she started getting dressed.

"Ready?" Kendall called softly from the room.

"Almost," I responded, walking into the closet. I pulled out my blue waterproof backpack, which I had filled the previous night with anything I might need. It was full of kitchen knives I had 'borrowed' a few hours earlier from the hotel lobby, money, foods like bread, cheese, crackers, things that were pretty much odorless, three bottles of mace, rope, several belts (in case I lost the rope), plenty of band aids, ibuprofen pills (I stuffed the bottle with cotton balls so the pills wouldn't jiggle), gauze, an endless amount of ponytails, and all the flashlights and batteries I could find. I pulled out a dark green backpack, since Kendall was now coming, and started moving over all the food into it.

"Why are we bringing backpacks?" Kendall asked, standing over my shoulder.

"So we can put all this stuff in it," I dodged, opening a front pocket and putting all the medicinal supplies into it.

"Well, why are we takin' all this stuff?" she drawled, her Tennessean accent shining through her words. Her nose was crinkled up, and she was giving me the look she always did when I started doing something she deemed as weird.

"In case something happens," I snapped at her, not wanting to hear some snide remark. "Go get water bottles from the fridge. As many as you can find."

She rolled her eyes, but obliged, leaving the room. I hastily pulled out three knives, moving them into the side pocket of Kendall's bag, where she could pull them out easily, and leaving three others in mine. That way, we wouldn't have to rely on just one bag having all of the weapons. Thinking more along those lines, I started splitting everything up half and half in each bag. Then if we lost one bag we'd have at least half of the supplies.

Kendall came back, and I distributed the waters evenly. I handed her one bag, and I took the other. She grunted, swinging it up on her shoulder. "Why is it so heavy?"

"I filled it with weights," I lied. "It'll be more of a work out."

She huffed but thankfully didn't complain. All I needed to do now was leave a note for my parents. I didn't want Kendall to see what I was going to write, so I told her to go get her softball bat.

"Why?"

"Will you stop asking why and just do what I say?!" I snapped. She didn't budge, just kept glaring. I pushed my bangs back. "Fine. It's in case someone tries to mug us. This is New York, you know."

She seemed satisfied with the answer and went to go find her bat. I pulled out a sticky note and quickly scrawled 'I'll take care of her. Don't worry about us. Love y'all. Mara'. I stuck it on my pillow, leaving the room and meeting Kendall in the hallway. We quietly slipped out the door.

We started jogging towards a main street, where we could flag down a cab to take us to Central Park. As we were heading towards the street, we passed a Walgreens. As we only had a handful of flashlights and batteries, I thought it would be a good idea to stock up. I managed to convince Kendall to go with me, and I bought a couple more flashlights, an army of AA batteries, duct tape, and a couple of packs of gum as an afterthought. The cashier gave us strange looks but was too tired to really care.

From there, we made it to cab and finally got to Central Park. The first few rocks we passed were busts. Kendall was suspicious, but when I lied and told her I saw something on Pinterest about glow-in-the-dark worms, she was eagerly moving the rocks. As we went on and all the rocks were turning out to not be right, I grew more and more disappointed and bitter.

"Do I really have to carry this stupid thing?" Kendall whined for the thousandth time.

"Say another word, and I will hit you," I muttered darkly.

"Look!"

"Kendall!" I shrieked, wheeling around sharply on my heel, thinking she was just trying to aggravate me. She was pointing innocently at yet another rock. I wanted to slap the look off her face, but instead I stormed over to the rock. This one was more of a rectangle than the others and was nestled at the base of a hill. I started to push it, and it slid a couple of inches. I felt a cool breeze on my face, and I looked down in shock. In the little space I had moved the rock, I could see a hole that was dark inside.

My spirits soared, and I started waving frantically. "Kendall! Kendall, come over here! Quick! Help me!" She came, and together we moved the rock away.

"What the heck?" she asked, staring quizzically at the hole.

I wrestled out a flashlight, falling onto my stomach and shining the light into it. I grinned like crazy. This was it. MY heart was pounding with excitement as I spotted the ladder and started going down it.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Kendall demanded.

"I- I'm…" I racked my brain for another excuse. "Come on, Kendall, let's explore! It'll be fun."

She looked skeptical. "What about the giant alligators?"

I burst out laughing. "Kendall, those don't really exist! But I've got some pepper spray, and you've still got your bat. Ace alligator fighting equipment," I joked, continuing down the rest of the stairs. She followed, and we both ended up on the ground.

I led the way. After a while of walking, Kendall asked, "How are we gonna find our way back?"

"You know I'm good with directions," I answered. We probably wouldn't be coming back this way anytime soon.

We both had our flashlights out, watching as our surroundings turned from concrete to dirt to stone. Kendall was getting nervous. "Mara… Can we go back?"

"Not yet," I responded.

"Why not?" she whined.

The air suddenly got a lot cooler, and I could feel a breeze blowing against my face. "Sh," I hissed, edging cautiously forward. I swept my light around, seeing the floor suddenly drop off. I went to the edge and shone the beam straight down. Sure enough, there was water. Lots of it.

I tried not to squeal and jump for joy. I had been right! The Underland was real! That meant that Gregor, Luxa, Ripred, all of them were real! I was going to meet them! This was a geek's dream come true. This was unbelievable.

"It's a dead end, Mara. Let's go back," Kendall pleaded.

"Not yet," I retorted, my voice breaking at the end because of my excitement. I couldn't keep the huge grin off my face.

"Why not!"

"Because I'm tired. Just for a little while, let's rest. Come look at this; this is cool."

She looked out at the sea, her eyebrows furrowing. She was probably wondering how an ocean could be underground, but she didn't bother asking and I didn't bother answering. I sat down, leaning my back against the wall, and she plopped down beside me.

I made my decision there. She couldn't know. I couldn't tell her about how I knew about this place. If Solovet found out that someone from the Overland was writing books about Underlanders, she would never let us leave. She would think we knew the future, and she would do whatever it took to make us tell her what happens, even though we didn't know.

Something about that train of thought bugged me, but I couldn't figure out what it was. I was distracted when Kendall pulled out her phone, trying to get on Twitter.

"Put that up!" I demanded.

"Why?" she asked just as harshly.

I inwardly growled. Because we're waiting for a patrolman on a bat to take us to an underground city where we might have to leave to go on a quest and then we'll need all the light we can get, and if the flashlights die out, we can use our phones as a last resort. Yeah. Right. "Never mind," I muttered.

So we waited.

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**Like it? Hate it? I wanna know! Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review!  
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**Thank you to IAmTheDaydreamer for reviewing!  
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	3. Chapter 2

**Hello everybody! Thank you to IAmTheDaydreamer, Lycil TyS, and Teenaged Author for reviewing! And another thank you goes to Teenaged Author for reminding me that (SPOILER ALERT) Solovet dies! I forgot that I didn't explain that confusing bit of nonsense to you guys!**

**Mara read these books back in seventh grade, so her memory of them is slim. She doesn't remember that Solovet died!  
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**Okay, now on to the story!  
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**«2»**

**Luxa**

**Mara, Kendall, The Plot © Me  
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**Everything Else © Suzanne Collins  
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I don't know how long we waited.

It took a while, though. Kendall, with her pseudo 'tough guy' act, pretended like she was going to leave me behind. She actually got up and walked a little bit away. But when she saw I wasn't following, she sullenly came back.

My hopes were sinking. What if patrolmen didn't come back here? This _was_ out of the way. But this was the only way to the Underhand. I didn't know where Gregor's apartment was, plus I was not about to fall however many feet and just hope that the currents will carry me. Nuh uh. Never.

I was fiddling with the thought of leaving when I heard it. It was loud and sounded a lot like a bird flapping its wings. Except it was much, much louder.

I leapt to my feet, flicking on my flashlight and shining it over the sea. In its gaze, I caught sight of something that made me want to cry, scream, and laugh all at the same time.

The bat was massive, much bigger than I expected. Its fur was a light brown, and its wings stretched out over an impossible distance. On top of the flying beast was a human. Its skin was so pale that it actually reflected the light, making it hard to see anything else of it.

"Hey!" I shouted as loudly as I could, pointing my flashlight at the ground so I wouldn't blind them.

"What is _that?!" _Kendall asked, scrambling to her feet.

I ignored her as I kept shouting and waving my arms. I snuck the beam back up, to try and spot them, only to see the huge bat swooping into the cave. I shrieked in surprise, stumbling backwards, tripping over Kendall, pulling her down with me, and then doing the crab walk.

The bat hopped to a landing, and the human swung off. It was a she, and she squinted in the sharp glare of Kendall's flashlight.

"Kendall, stop that!" I hissed, snatching it out of her hands. I widened the beam, making it considerably weaker, then handed it back to her. She turned it back on the human, her mouth a perfect circle.

I looked at the girl. She was broad-shouldered, with skin translucent enough to see her veins and almost her internal organs. Her white-blonde hair fell straight to her shoulders, where the ends had clearly been chopped off with a knife. Her clothing looked to have a strange texture but fit her snugly. She had a sword resting at her side. But the strangest thing were her eyes. They were a light shade of purple, almost lilac, and they seemed to be glowing against her white skin. They were stretched wide in surprise as she took in the both of us. "Overlanders?"

I nodded. "I'm Mara, this is my sister Kendall."

Her eyes grew even huger. "S-Sisters?" She looked to be in absolute shock. It was awkward. For me, at least. The Underlander looked like she was about to pass out, and Kendall looked like she was going to start crying.

"My name is Rena. Meet you Geronian," she gestured to the previously silent bat, who fluttered its wings.

"Pleased to meet you," he purred.

And that was it. Kendall broke down in tears. She spun around and sprinted in the opposite direction, wailing.

"Whoa! Whoa, Kendall, wait!" I called, chasing after her. I grabbed her arm, but she turned and punched me, hard, in the stomach. Luckily she had been in a panic, and it wasn't a serious blow. I sprinted and tackled her, wrestling her to the ground.

"Kendall, Kendall, chill out, calm down!" I shouted.

"She's gonna kill us, a-and the bat c-can talk!" she sobbed.

"It's okay, Kendall," I soothed. "Neither of them are going to hurt us. Just listen to me, alright? We have to go with them."

"They'll k-kill us!"

"No, they won't. I promise."

"I wanna go home!"

I was getting annoyed now. Why did I even bring her? She was such a coward. "Then go! You'll have to go by yourself, 'cause I ain't goin'! I hope you remember the way back, 'cause I don't!"

She sobbed. "I don't wanna go, please!"

"We mean you no harm," Rena said behind me.

"Stop being a baby, Kendall," I hissed, standing up and pulling her to her feet. She glared furiously at me. I knew she was going to hate me for a while, but she would get over it. Sooner, rather than later.

"I'm sorry," I told Rena and Geronian, who both looked sheepish. "She gets scared easily."

She shoved me in the back, making me ungraciously stumble and nearly fall on my face. I shared a look with Rena.

"Come. Let us take you to Regalia."

I started straight for the bat when Kendall asked, "What's Regalia."

I inwardly flinched. _Mara, you have to be more careful! You didn't act scared at all around a huge talking bat, and you didn't even ask about Regalia! They're gonna get suspicious if you keep it up._

"It is our city," Rena responded proudly. She swung up on Geronian, holding out a hand for me. As she helped me up, she muttered, "I know what it is like. I have a younger sister, myself, and, much as I love her, I often wish to inflict harm upon her."

I chuckled and scooted back, leaving room for Rena to lift Kendall up in front of me. I held onto Geronian's fur, which was softer than I thought, and had to remind myself to let my legs dangle. I saw Kendall was squeezing the life out of the poor bat's sides.

"Kendall, relax your legs."

She didn't listen.

"Overlander," Geronian stated. "You will not fall with me around. I promise." Kendall seemed to relax a tiny bit.

Until Geronian took off.

I wasn't ready for it. The sudden lurch as we rose into the air. My legs latched around his stomach, and I clung onto Kendall, who was hanging on Rena. My stomach dropped to somewhere around my feet as my heart started to race. The wind beat mercilessly against my face like I had stuck my head out the car window on the interstate.

After a while, it became kind of nice. We both relaxed. Until we got to Regalia.

Rena landed in the stadium, swinging of her bat. "Call for Queen Luxa!" she shouted.

There had been some sort of… something going on, that we had interrupted. A fleet of bats that were flying all landed, letting their humans step off. They all gawked at us, purple eyes stretched wide.

I felt so out of place with my dark brown hair that fell in loose waves to my waist. My round, auburn-colored eyes were sit into my darkly tanned face, tanner than most Overlanders. I had my Native American roots that helped with that.

Kendall fit in a little better. Not much, but more than me. My two other sisters resembled me, while Kendall was the black sheep in the family. She was pale with freckles all over her. She had almond-shaped blue eyes and long, dirty blonde hair that was pulled up into its normal bun.

"Should we…?" I started to ask Geronian, unsure of anything that we might be supposed to do.

"You can dismount, yes," he answered. I immediately slid off, but Kendall was reluctant. She clung to him, something she knew. Something familiar in this strange land.

I frowned, holding up my hand. I was more familiar than a stupid bat. She looked at my hand and allowed me to pull her down. As soon as she landed, she released it, forcing herself to scowl and brink back the 'tough guy' act.

A golden bat appeared, swooping down in front of us. On top of it rode a girl my age, with straight blonde hair to her shoulders. She was wearing a white tunic that was tucked loosely into brown leggings. A gold crown circled her head, and she stared down at us. Her cheekbones were pronounced, and she had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep.

"Come," she ordered. I ungracefully struggled up onto the bat while Kendall seemed to hop onto her. The bat shot into the sky, and I realized it was Luxa we were with.

A grin spread across my face. I was currently a few inches away from a character out of my favorite fiction novel.

This was unreal.

The city of Regalia sprawled around us as we swooped into, what I assumed was, High Hall. Luxa jumped off the bat, and we followed.

She smiled graciously at the Regalians that were staring, wide-eyed, at us. "Do not speak with anyone," she muttered into our ears, her grin never faltering. "Follow me." She strode away, into the palace, and we followed.

It didn't take long before we were in a room that was much like a condo. We entered into the living area, where Luxa's bat was waiting. I had forgotten her name.

"Hazard?" she called, ducking into one of the doorways that branched off the main room. She reappeared seconds later, heaving a sigh of relief.

"Greetings, Overlanders," she said, her voice warm and steady. "I am sorry for the theatrics; it is of the upmost importance that no one knows of your presence."

"Why?" I asked.

She turned to me with a smirk. "Because your appearance marks the beginning of the worst wars the Underland will ever know."

I fell into a violent coughing fit. "What?!"

"Shh!" she hissed. "Keep your voices down!" I stared at her in shock, and she sighed. "I am Luxa, almost Queen of the city of Regalia. You two are…"

"Mara, Kendall." I pointed a thumb at the respective person, unable to fully think. Was there a prophecy about us? Surely not. The chances of that were crazy slim.

But so were the chances that this place would even exist.

"Mara, Kendall, sisters of the Overland, welcome you to the Underland." Luxa gestured to her bat. "This is my bond, Aurora."

"What do you mean, 'bond'?" I asked, inwardly giving myself a high-five for sounding clueless.

"Fliers and humans are allowed to bond, if they so wish," Aurora answered. "By bonding, the two vow to protect each other."

"Like a dog?" Kendall asked.

"Kendall!" I exclaimed, punching her in the shoulder. Now she'd done it! They were both going to hate them because Kendall decided to call the bat a dog.

Luxa's brow furrowed. "What is a 'dog'?"

"Nothing," I responded. "It's an animal that protects people." To Kendall, I said, "It's like a relationship. They protect each other… I guess."

"Okay. Shall I show you to the prophecy room? Or do you wish to rest? I am sure it has been a long and tiring journey."

I was so excited I figured I would never sleep. But I was tired. I had barely gotten any sleep the whole trip to New York, and I hadn't slept at all this night. It had to be around the morning by now. "If it's okay, we can see the prophecy room tomorrow?"

Luxa nodded. "Of course."

"What's a prophecy?" Kendall asked, looking around, confused.

"Oh my gosh," I groaned, rubbing my face with my hands. I started laughing, and even Luxa cracked a smile.

She went over to the door, leaning out. "Dulcet?" she called.

Another Underlander woman appeared at the door. I grinned. In my mind, I had always imagined Dulcet resembling Emma Stone, and I had been very close. Luxa, too, was similar to how I had imagined her.

"Will you please escort Mara and Kendall to their rooms?"

Dulcet flashed a dazzling grin, nodding. "Of course. It is nice to meet you," she said to us as we walking into the hallway and followed her.

"It's nice to meet you too," I responded.

Dulcet took us to a room with a queen-sized bed that we were going to share. Kendall, under normal circumstances, would have complained about sharing. Thankfully, she was too afraid to say anything. Dulcet left, pulling the curtain shut behind her. Kendall turned to me, her eyes huge and mournful. "Mara…"

"Kendall. You have to trust me, okay? No one's going to hurt us, I promise you," I soothed. If she was younger than her thirteen years, I would've gone over and hugged her. But she would probably hit me if I did that.

"When are we gonna go home?" she asked.

I sighed, nodding towards the bathroom. "Go take a shower."

We each took our showers, finding out that our clothes had been taken and burned. To me, it was a small price to pay for being here. To Kendall, it was a big deal. Her phiten necklace had been her favorite. After arguing, a lot, and some sniffling (on Kendall's part) we finally fell asleep.

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**Haha, Luxa' s the _almost_ queen (; Bet she doesn't like that much! Hehe. And stupid Kendall, why'd you call Aurora a dog?! Geez.  
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**Haha thanks for reading! And reviewers get virtual cookies! (:  
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